Quest for Identity

[excerpt] What is identity? Firstly, it is a process, and not a 'found' object. It may be likened to the trail left by civilisation as it moves through history. The trail is the culture, or identity, of that civilisation

Secondly, being a process, identity cannot be fabricated. We develop our identity by tackling what we perceive to be our real problems. For instance, Europeans pioneered the industrial revolution, without worrying about their identity. They came out of it all the richer for their efforts, while remaining French, English or German.

Thirdly, identity is not a self-conscious thing We may talk about French logic, but the French are not trying to be French-logical. They're simply trying to be logical; it's we who watch them and say "That's very French".

We find our identity by understanding ourselves, and our environment. Any attempt to short circuit this process of understanding, or to fabricate an identity, would be dangerous to us all. It would be manipulation, a kind of signalling. A signal is quite distinct from a symbol, for it implies a Pavlovian reaction, a manipulated response In other words, one person waves a flag whereupon everyone else jumps up and salutes If an architect, after travelling around the world, were to return to India, and attempt to reproduce there a glass building he saw in New York, he would simply be transmitting signals. But if, on the other hand, he were to take the principles of architecture, and apply them to a completely different set of materials, customs, climate and traditions, he might put up a contemporary building which isn't all glass but which is very relevant to its locale - and to identity.